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New York City Football club has had quite an inaugural season.  Headlining this year has been the signing of multiple European footballer legends.  The recent arrival of Andrea Pirlo completed New York’s trifecta as he joined summer signings Frank Lampard and David Villa.  The trio now faces an uphill battle, leading NYC in the charge to secure a spot in the 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs.  An alteration to the old playoff format is great news for New York City FC as they currently sit on 28 points, good for seventh place.  This situates them one spot shy of a playoff birth, even on points but trailing sixth placed Montreal Impact on goal difference.  The new format will feature twelve teams, expanding from ten, the format used on the previous four seasons. The Crew will be visiting Yankee Stadium for the first time this season.  The only previous meeting of these foes came on August 19th.  In Columbus, New York was led by Ghanaian rookie sensation Kw...

The 2015 MLS All-Star Game this Wednesday features a clash against Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur.   The match kicks off at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Commerce City, Colorado. Headlining the MLS All-Star lineup is one of the most talented groups of forwards the league has ever seen.     Among them is league scoring leader Kei Kamara .   Joining him will be the reigning 2014 MLS MVP Robbie Keane and one of this year’s front-runners Sebastian Giovinco .   Rounding out the scoring threats is New York City FC leading scorer David Villa , who has scored 6 goals it’s the last 3 matches, and United States hero Clint Dempsey .   Dempsey returns to MLS play after a 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup that saw him be awarded the Golden Boot honors.     Tottenham’s frontline is no strangers to providing goals aplenty as well.   Leading the charge will be the England’s Young Player of the Year Harry Kane.   K...

Andrea Pirlo, amidst the storm of transfer rumors, visited Yankee Stadium to catch a game this past weekend.  The surging news flood around the Italian midfield maestro would be a vital signing for the in form New York City Football Club. Clothing For Dummies: How To Dress Like Pirlo (The Guardian.uk) If this move is to go through as fans hope, it would cause a tactical change in the midfield of NYC FC.  The core of this squad, aside from David Villa, is current midfield anchor Mix Diskerud.  With the arrival of Frank Lampard, Diskerud will already have to adjust his style of play.  Deployed previously in central roll, a midfield shared with Lampard and possibly Pirlo would require him to model into a traditional workhorse.  An engine, tasked with tackling and providing the speed and legs the older duo may lack. 4-4-2 Formation vs. Toronto FC June 20th (mlssoccer.com) The other question this potential move would generate is simple: where will the...

  Yankee Stadium will be the site of the second clash between New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls this season.   June 28 th presents a meeting of the fifth placed Red Bulls and an NYC FC side riding their first ever win streak.   NYC FC emerged victorious over Canadian opponents the Montreal Impact and Toronto FC, outscoring the pair by a total of 5-1, in these two previous matches. The first meeting of this season came at Red Bull Arena on May 10 th .   The Red Bulls will look to finish victorious again as two goals from forward Bradley Wright-Phillips lifted the 10-man Red Bulls over NYC FC.  Setting the stage for this meeting, the atmosphere of a rivalry still in its infancy will only be further elevated when they meet again this weekend.   The supporters of NYC FC and all of Blue York City FC have fueled the sports rise in notoriety as transfer rumors continue to swirl about Andrea Pirlo joining the boys in blue.   Heading ...

Major League Soccer and the weather have been heating up as the league enters the summer leg of the 2015 season.   The secondary transfer window, July 8 th – August 6 th , has been buzzing with most of the headlines surrounding New York City Football Club.   The Jason Kreis coached side has made two early splashes.   The first was the announcement was the signing of 32-year-old defender Androni Iraola on a free transfer.  His arrival in the Big Apple will provide the backline of NYC FC with a veteran of the Spanish first division.   Iraola made 510 appearances for Athletico Bilbao, scoring 38 goals over a 12-season career.   He will be reunited with forward David Villa as the pair has featured previously for the Spanish National Team. New York has also signed highly rated Manchester City starlet Jose Angel Tasande, Under-21 Youth Academy left back, to a season long loan deal.   His pace and ability to fly up the flanks will benefit their win...

This Saturday, D.C. United will square off with Sporting Kansas City.  Outside of the first New York derby this the match to watch this weekend.  Here is our Match Keys... D.C. United (5-1-2) vs. Sporting Kansas City (3-2-4) Epsindola Continues to Shine - D.C Since returning from his six match suspension forward Fabian Espindola has be in marvelous form. The statistics speak for themselves: two match, 170 minutes, 1 goal and 1 assist.  Epsindola, United's 2014 co-scoring leader has only bettered the recent run of brilliance of his side.  5-1-2 through the first eight matches of the year has them trailing New England for the Eastern Conference lead.  For D.C. to take away max points, he will need to press the backline of Sporting and provide an outlet for the defense on the counter attack. Kitchen Keeps Cooking - D.C Midfielder Perry Kitchen has taken the league by storm.  His play this season has us asking the question, will he feature this summ...

Colorado Rapids 3 - 3 Philadelphia Union  Tonight's MLS schedule had this match flying under the radar.  However, what at face value seemed a dull fixture ended up being one the best matches of the night.   1st Half This fixture featured MLS veteran Conor Casey playing his old club, which Casey tallied 50 goals for over his 5 year stay.  The match began slow with Colorado forward Deshorn Brown missing a chance in the 6th minute. However, the match picked up in the 16th minute when Casey showed his ability to out wit his ex-club's central defender Shane O'Neill.  A beautifully weighted ball from the right wing found Casey who used his trademark strength to out muscle O'Neill and neatly tuck away his shot to put the Union up 1-0. The action continued with Colorado answering in the 18th minute off the left foot of Dillon Serna. Serna out maneuvered two Union defenders and fired home in world class fashion to equalize at 1-1.   Fast forward ...